Fishing line clamp



g- 5, '1952 J. w. RILEY FISHING LINE CLAMP 2 SHEETS SHEET 1 Filed June9, 1950 INVENTOR JAMES W; RILEY A'ITORNEYQ Aug. 5, 1952 I w. RlLEY2,605,568

' FISHING LINE CLAMP Filed June 9, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 FIG-.2.

INVENTOR J4ES W. RILEY Patented Aug. 5, 1952 v UNITED S ATE AT T .1. fE..: "V2,6 05,5681 a A FISHING LINE CLAMP;- .IarziesWQ Riley, Depoe Bay,Oreg Application June '9, 1950, Serial No. 167,017

' 13;Claims. (01. 43-24)- The present invention relates to improvementsin a fishing line clamp and has for an object to provide an improvedclamp capable of holding a deep sea fishing line at the desired depthand at the desired distance from the boat.

Still another object of the present'invention is to provide an improvedclamp of this'type which does not have to be removed from the wire lineat any time.

The present invention aims to provide an improved clamp which comprisesrelatively few parts, is inexpensive to manufacture and due to thesimplicity of its structure is not apt to wear out or get broken.

-With the foregoing and other objects in view,

the invention will be hereinafter more fully de-' scribed and moreparticularly the appended claims.

In the drawings, in which the same parts are pointed out in denoted bythe same reference numerals through-' out the several views,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary top plan viewof a fishing boat with theimproved device constructed in accordance with the present inventionapplied thereto,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the improved clamp in its non-clampingposition, Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective. view of the clamp withthe fishing line clamped therein, Figure 4 is a perspective explodedview of the jaws of the clamp,

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the clamp spring,

Figure 6 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken on the line B-6of Figure 2 and' looking in the direction of the arrows, Figure 7 is atransverse vertical sectional view taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 2 andlooking in the direction of the arrows, and

Figure 8 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken on the line 8-8of Figure 6 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring more particularlyto the drawings, I indicates-a conventionaltype of fishing boat having a bow l I, a stern I2 and a side I3 on whichadjacent the sternl2, is mounted by brackets M a conventional type ofwinch or fish line reel I having an operating crank IS. The winch orreel l5 may be of the power operated type' and includes a brake. A fishline 11 adapted for use in deep sea fishingis supported upon the drum l8of the winch and adapted to be wound upon and unwound from the drum. Theline I1 may be made of any material suitable for a power fish line fordeep sea fishing, such as,

steel wire or the like! e free-end portion of the line I! istrairi'edfover a pulley I9 which is rotatably mounted on a bracket 20which in turn is carried by one'end portion of an arm 2|. 1 a,

A supporting member 22 is mounted on the side 13 of the boat by screwsor the like 23 and the other end of the arm"2l is 'swivelly supported bythe member22 so that the armand the pulley can be swung back and forthover thetop edge of the side of the boat as indicated by the arrow 24shown in Figure 1'. of the: drawing.

A lead or sinker 25 is attachedto-the free end of the line H and aleader .26 has one end secured to the free end portion of the line Hadjacent the sinker and its opposite end has a fish hook 21 attachedthereto. A series of spaced apart stops 28 which may be *in the form ofstiff 'wire barbs are mountedon the free end portion of the line l1between the lead 25 and the pulley l9.

A clamp generally designated at A'comprises a pair of movable'membershaving'jaws 29 and 30 and hand grip portions 3| and 32, respectively;pivotally connected bya pivot element 33 and a spring generallydesignated-34 for normally urging the jaws 29 and 39 intogripping'engagement.

The outer surface ofthe jaw 29 is inclined downforward end'nose 3 5. Theinner gripping surface 36 of the jaw 29 is substantially flat anduninterrupted? The nose 35 has atransversely extending slot 31therethroug'h, the forward wall 38 of which is rounded and the, otherwalls of which are substantially flat. Between the gripping surface 36and the, slot 31 the jaw 29 has a substantially oblong through opening39, the major axis of I which extends longitudinally of the jaw 29 andthe upper edges of the walls defining the opening. 39. are rounded as at40.

The jaw 29 has in one side thereof an entrance passageway M which 1communicates with the opening 39 adjacent theforward end portionthereof. The passageway 4| extends entirely through the side of thejaw29 and the walls of the passageway are outwardly flared as indicated.

Between the gripping surface 48 and the slot. 49 the jaw 3!] has asubstantially, oblong through opening 5|, the major axis ofWhichextends' longitudinally of the jaw 30 and the lower edges of thewalls defining the opening 5| are rounded as at 52. v

The jaw 30 has in its side which is remote from the passageway 4| anentrance passageway 53 which communicates with the opening 5| adjacentthe forward enduportiomthereofr The pas.- sageway} 53 extendsentirelythrough the side :of the jaw 3|l 'andjthe'walls of theipassageway are outwardly ila red' as indicated at 54 lto-"facilitate'the entrance of the fish line into the opening- 5f. Thehan'djgrip.portion32jis substantially channel; shape inrcross'secti'orrandhas upwardlyeXtendiiigsid' walls'55, the rear end'portionsof which curve downwardly and rearwardly' asindicated at 56. Theforwardendportions ofthe side walls 55 are' cut awayitofprovidesubstantially semi-circular bearing."Jsurfaces or .seats 51. Inwardly'of "thefseats-"5'|: a pair'of spaced apart disks 5!! aremounted onthe'rhand grip 32 which have aligned openings 59.

When the two movable 'members are assembled the lower rounded portionsof :the ears 45' of the upper member. willbe =;receiv'ed by? the seats5! of the other movable. member andthe inner faces of theears' 45Willi-engage thewouterfac'es of the disks 58 to cooperate in guiding themovable members-intheir'a'elativepivotal movements and preventrelativevlateral-' movement of the .two members: a a

The 'spring -3 4 comprises.-two:.legs .60 and 6| which are joinedby asubstantially centrally. dis-J posed-coil -62v The;:coi-l 62 :is..disposed between the disks-58.andthelopening ,inrth'e coil is inalignment with ;the openings 45 and.59.of the ears 45-and-the:disks.5 8;respectively. The pivot 61G.- ment-BS extends'lthrough thealignedopenings in the ears.45, .the.Ldisks..58j1andthe coil 62tomaintain. the movable membersrin; proper pivotal relationship. Thepivot'ele'ment 33 may be in-the form of-.a..rivet asisiillustratedinFigure 8 of the drawing. The .legsffiland 5| -of "thespring 34 will engage against'th inner faces of the hand grips 3|and'32, respectively; ,to normally urge the jaws 29' and 3 into'clamping" position.

A bowpol'e 63 has -onecendsecured to the bow I! of the boat by rivets"or theflike64. The bow pole extends outwardly beyond the side of theboat |3 andhas securedto its'outer freeend portion one'end of abow lineor cotton tag line'55. The opposite end 'portiori' of the bow line '65is threaded-through the slots 31 and- 39 and is secured to themairr-p'ortion 'of the bow line by wire 65 whichiswrapped around the bowline 65 and th free end portion thereof-as issh'own in Figure 6 of thedrawingr I In the use of theqevide the -free end'portion of the fishline l 'lisfthreadedthrough the aligned openings 39 and ofYth'e-jaws' 29"and 35 and the-hook- 2! 'and-"sinker-25 are 'then attached to the line11." 'Atthis time th clamp A-andthe lines I! and 65 are substantially inthe positions indicated in dotted lines in Figure 1 of the drawings. Thewinch I5 is then put into operation to feed the line H until the desiredamount has been payed out. The hand grips 3| and 32 will then be pressedtogether to permit the line I! to be moved through the entrancepassageways 4| and 53 into the space between th gripping surfaces 3 5and 48 of the jaws 29 and 39, respectively.

Thepressure will then be released ,upon the hand grips 3| and 32 and'the force of the spring v .34 will cause the jaws to approach oneanother so that the fishing line H will be firmly clamped therebetweenas is shown in Figure 3 of the drawing. The winch |5 will again beput'into operation to pay out the line H 50 that the clamp A and the bowline 55 will now assume the full line position indicated in Figure 1 ofthe drawing; In this position the bow line 65 will be drawn taut so thatthe bow lin will exert pressure uponthe noses 35 and 41 to supplementthe action of the spring 34 l in maintaining-the jaws 29 and-= in firmclamping engagement with the 'line' l'k. Thisaction .of the-bow line-.65is greatly enhanced by the roundportions 98'and 59 of the noses35-and-4'|;respectively. A

The fishermanwill operate the winch-lite unreel an additionalportion-ofthe-line l'i-to provide a slack portion indicated at llainFigup, the fisherman will operate thewinch l5=to draw the line H and theclamp A to the dotted line position"illustratedwin l igure l of thedrawings. The fisherman will release the grip of the jaws 23 and 30 onthe line H by pressing on the hand grips 3| and 32 and will turntheclamp through approximately; degrees from' the position shown inFigures 1 and 2 of the drawings. The line I! will then be 'free'to movethrough the entrance passageways 4| and :53 into the openings "39 and-5|through which it will be free to move in either direction.

Th sides of the-openings 39 and-5|- opposite to the entrance-passageways4| and 53,-respec tively, are closed so that -;the-linecannot'escapefrom the clamp A;

During the relative movements of the movable members of the clamp, theportions; 5'! 'of the innersurface of the 'upper member will haverocking engagement with the disks 58 to mutually support the movablemembers and torelieve the pivot element 33 of some of the strain, theopposite ends'of the :coil 52'of the spring-34 bear against the innersurfaces of the disks 58 so that .the 'spring 34 is held in properlycentered position.

Thedepth .of thefishing gear maybe determined by the fisherman.By-referring to Figure l of the drawings whichshowsthe line pass ingthrough the clamp, the sinker 2-5 in theform of a cannon ball on theendof thelineand the stops "28 placed stationary on" the-.linewill-benoted. The clamp asdevised permits these stops and the line to go in andout "freely when it ?is so turned by thefishermem without tearing up theequipment and-the'clamp does not have to be removed from the line. It"should be bornein mind that each individual fisherman may want tochange'the'stopsonr'the fishing line to suit hisneeds, butregardlessrofwherehe places them they can-run freely at-his instance'by-simply turning :theriaws of ;the::.c1amp: open or;shut.1x

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in thedetails of construction and design of the above specifically describedembodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof,such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of thefollowing claims.

What I claim is:

1. An improved fishing line clamp for use with a deep sea fishing linemounted on a fishing boat comprising a pair of movable members pivotallyconnected together and having openings therein through which the fishingline is adapted to pass, said movable members having cooperating fishingline gripping surfaces for clamping the fishing line therebetween whenthe fishing line has reached the desired depth, spring means fornormally urging the gripping surfaces of the movable members intogripping engagement with the fishing line, said movable members havingpassageways whereby the fishing line can be moved from the openings inthe movable members to a position between the gripping surfaces of themovable members, said passageways being disposed on opposite sides ofsaid movable members and opening therethrough and communicating withsaid openings, the opposite sides of the openings being closed toprevent escape of the fishing line. I

2. An improved fishing line clamp for use with a deep sea fishing linemounted on a fishing boat, comprising a pair of movable memberspivotally connected together and having openings therein through whichthe fishing line is adapted to pass, said movable members havingcooperating fishing line gripping surfaces for clamping the fishing linetherebetween when the fishing line has reached the desired depth, andspring means for normally urging the gripping surfaces of the movablemembers into gripping engagement with the fishing line, said openingsbeing in axial registry with one another and having their axessubstantially at right angles to the gripping surfaces of the movablemembers, said movable members having passageways communicating at alltimes with said openings and through which the fishing line can be movedfrom the gripping surfaces to said openings and from said openings tosaid gripping surfaces.

3. An improved fishing line clamp for use with a deep sea fishing linemounted on a fishing boat comprising a pair of movable members pivotallyconnected together and having openings therein for permitting thefishing line to pass therethrough, said movable members comprising a,pair of jaws having cooperating gripping surfaces for clamping thefishing line therebetween when the fishing line has reached the desireddepth, spring means for normally urging the gripping surfaces of thejaws into gripping engagement with the fishing line, said movablemembers having aligned slots in the free end portions of the jaws, a tagline having its rear end portion threaded through the slots in said jawsand having its rear end portion secured to the main portion of said tagline to provide a loop having opposed side portions, and means attachedto the forward end portion of the tag line for holding the tag line andclamp remote from the boat and for drawing the tag line taut when thefishing line has reached the desired depth to cause the opposed sideportions of the loop to exert a closing pressure upon the jaws, wherebythe closing action of the spring means is supplemented.

' JAMES W. RILEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,170,594 Nicholson Aug. 22, 19392,209,697 Kislingbury July 30, 1940 2,514,698 Herrero July 11, 1950

